Photo: Used with permission from Frances Jeffries
WAREHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Frances Jeffries started off 2025 with a jump into frigid waters at Onset Beach for a good cause.
Jeffries does this each year to raise money for ShelterBox USA, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter across the world to communities stricken by natural disasters and conflict. Each box provides tools, household supplies and a tent that accommodates 10 people.
Jeffries said that the goal of the plunge is to not fixate on the temperature of the water and focus on the bigger picture and symbolism of the event.
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“At that moment when you reach the water you want to suspend any notion of the temperature, because it’s irrelevant to what you are doing,” she said. “No one else is saying is it 40 or 42 degrees. It’s a great life lesson, because so much of what we focus on is irrelevant.”
Jeffries emphasized how important the organization’s work is when it comes to supporting displaced women, who face an increased risk of sexual and physical violence when not in a shelter space.
“When women do not have any shelter, they are very likely to be raped and even killed.” “The minute a woman and her family can get into a shelter, the threat of violence against women is reduced dramatically.”
Jeffries holds a PhD in Counseling from Kent State University and studied in Bangkok, Thailand for three months at age 75 to become a Rotary Peace Fellow at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University.
It was this experience that inspired Jeffries to organize her plunge for peace, while supporting ShelterBox and other charities. The first plunge was in 2019 in South Boston.
Jeffries said that last year’s plunge raised $5,000 for ShelterBox alone.
